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Schools will close their doors and switch to remote learning if two or more cases of Covid-19 are detected among pupils or staff.

The Ministry of Education has put in place tough safety measures to guard against a potential outbreak of infection on school premises.

A series of protocols setting out contingency plans for localised spikes in cases both at schools and across the wider national population were set out on Wednesday.

If just one case is detected, the rooms used by anyone diagnosed with the virus are to be temporarily closed and sterilised.

But if any additional cases are discovered, anywhere on site, the school will close and all pupils will transfer to distance learning for a period.

Meanwhile, schools will also temporarily close or reduce their capacity if there is a surge in cases across the country.

A formula has been devised to assess risk levels to the school population; from low, moderate to high and extreme levels.

In the case of an extreme risk - deemed to be at least 36 cases per 100,000 people - schools will shut and adopt distance learning for all pupils.

Meanwhile, Dubai's private school regulator announced some children returning from holidays will be unable to return to classrooms immediately.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority has told school leaders that pupils below the age of 12 who have travelled abroad must complete 14 days of distance learning on their return to the UAE.

"Pupils under the age of 12 with a travel history will have to undergo mandatory 14 days distance learning from their date of arrival," the authority stated in a notice sent out to schools.

The decision means that if a pupil returned from holiday one week before their first day back at school, they would have to continue distance learning for one week before being allowed to return to the classroom.

Nearly 300,000 pupils will return to 209 private schools in Dubai next week.